Downside Wonderland
by Atomic Kokoro
Summary: Shinra is an underground doctor. It goes without saying. But when the doctor finds himself stuck with a mental illness he can't seem to cure, can he convince himself to hold on a little while longer, or will he fall to his hallucinations' demands?
1. Chapter 1: This Reality

**Downside Wonderland**

**By: AtomicKokoro**

**Storyline**

Shinra is an underground doctor. It goes without saying. But when the doctor finds himself stuck with a mental illness he can't seem to cure, can he convince himself to hold on a little while longer, or will he fall to his hallucinations' demands?

…

**Before You Read**

Inspired by Calalini. Sad story. Look it up.

Riaru. Had to write it so I remember. You'll see why later.

Also, I wrote this instead of continuing Black Veil Bride because my friend wanted to read this instead.

On with the story.

…

**Chapter 1**

**This Reality**

Sunlight poured into the empty apartment's living room. A gorgeous clear sky hung over the city seen from their balcony window, fragile as though it was about to break over the tallest building. But, still, it stood tall and high and the world went on without care.

Silence rang through the apartment, with the occasional honk of a car muffled from the streets and screams and laughter from teenagers in the nearby park. The apartment was mostly white, color coming only from the stainless-steel appliances and the black TV.

The hall in the back was dark, without any light. At the end of the hall was a closed door that led to a bedroom. The bedroom was equally dark, no lights on, the only window facing away from the sun.

It was five to ten. Gray eyes stared out from underneath the blanket. It was just him. His lover had gone on an early morning job (or she hadn't come back from last night's one yet) and he laid alone. Perhaps they should get a pet of some kind. He got lonely without his precious Celty there.

He rolled onto his back, pushing off the blanket and laying to take up as much space as possible, and sighed. He stared at the ceiling. He felt somewhat cooler, but his usual work clothes still made him hot. He still didn't care.

It was just another day. It was another dark morning. A lazy morning. A lonely morning. He didn't really want to get out of bed. There wasn't all that much to do. He didn't exactly have a purpose in life; give medical attention to those who couldn't go to a normal hospital and love his beautiful fiancee. Discover and research and examine superhuman, natural, strange occurrences. The impossible. The unbelievable.

Perhaps life was better than he was granting for. But he still bit his lip. He thought for a moment, then shut his eyes and sighed. "Whatever," he muttered and leaned up. He looked around his room, blank and unamused. Then, he growled in annoyance and laid back down again.

Not yet.

He wasn't going to get up yet.

…

"...four survived, three of those injured. No fatalities. On to other news, a strange occurrence has police baffled, looking for answers..."

Shinra sipped his coffee, tilting his head back, drowning out the morning news. He wasn't bored, but he wasn't too amused, either. He liked the normal life, without worries about work or money. All he had to worry about were Celty's irregular hours.

Calm.

Calm was nice.

"...people mysteriously disappearing, vanishing _off the face of the Earth_. Police suspect foul play..."

Shinra turned to the TV. He scratched the back of his neck, then wandered into the kitchen. As a doctor, he knew that breakfast was one of the most important meals of the day. However, he wasn't hungry. _Don't force yourself to eat if you aren't hungry,_ he told himself. _But it's breakfast, so..._

He shrugged and pulled out a carton of eggs. Something small would suffice.

Shinra quickly whipped together a small plate of eggs and toast, then sat down on the couch, flipping from the news to whatever was on the next channel. A documentary on the Afterlife was playing. He grabbed his plate, leaned back, and watched the documentary, half-amused, half-bored.

…

Shinra was on his third documentary, laying upside down on the couch, several empty plates with small scrapings of food laying over the coffee table, when Celty came home. He didn't hear the door open or closed, but he did hear Celty's keys jingle as she hung them on the rings. "Welcome home, Celty!" Shinra yelled, but not moving from his place. He knew she would sit beside him.

[Thank you,] she replied, typing on her phone's keyboard. She watched the TV for a moment. [What are you watching?]

"Documentary," he replied. "on the piano. Wanna play some video games?"

…

The couple played for a while, trying desperately to beat each other at different games, but, in the end, Celty gave up and refused to play anymore. "Oh, c'mon, Celty! I'll go easy on you next time!" But Celty only folded her arms and turned away. Shinra chuckled helplessly, then turned back to the TV. "Want to watch another movie?"

…

He let Celty pick out the video. Naturally, it was another alien horror movie. One that came out not too long ago; Alien vs Predator.

There was nothing too scary about the movie; Shinra never found horror movies all that terrifying. He knew aliens weren't real. Heaven forbid a real alien invasion. He would never see Celty again.

He frowned. Now _that_ was a terrifying thought...

Celty jumped when a Predator leaped out of the darkness. Shinra was shaken from his thoughts and he glanced at Celty. He smirked and decided this was the best time to make a move, if any at all.

He wrapped an arm around her and held her. "It's alright," he said, trying to hide his chuckle. "It's not real."

[Fine,] she texted. [but if you turn out to be either of those things...]

"Such faith," Shinra sighed, but a smile still stayed on his lips. Celty eventually pulled away (she wasn't the touchy-feely type) and they got back to the movie.

…

At the very end of the movie, Celty decided to call it a day and headed off to bed. Not even five minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Shinra, still up and still bored, went to the door and answered it. "Who's there?" he sang, as though he was trying to make a joke.

"Me," came a voice from the other side.

"Me who?"

There was a sigh. "Of course, the childish play the games. Let the childish play, I suppose."

"The meek may rule the world one day," Shinra chuckled, opening the door. "but humor will always be the God."

He opened the door and there stood Izaya, hands in pockets. "Do you know who you are talking to?"

"The God of his own world?"

Izaya shrugged and walked inside. "If that is what you think."

Shinra rolled his eyes and shut the door as Izaya kicked off his shoes. "Not really," he said. "I'm just saying what I thought you wanted to hear."

Izaya chuckled. "I thought so. Where's the courier?"

"_Celty_," Shinra corrected, walking with Izaya into his living room. "is sleeping."

"Let the dead rest."

"That isn't funny."

The two males sat down on the couch. It was comfier than Izaya remembered, but that was probably because Shinra's couch was cotton while his own was leather.

"Coffee?" Shinra offered, getting back up again as he remembered he had to hospitable to his guest.

Izaya shook his head. "Tea. Do you even know me?"

"Maybe," the doctor replied, walking into his kitchen and putting on a kettle for the hot water. "All-knowing, slightly crazy, can't call my amazing future wife by her real name... You seem to fit the ticket."

The 'all-knowing, slightly crazy' information broker gave a scoff of amusement and crossed his legs in his usual feminine-like way. Izaya practiced sounding like girl in the chat rooms and it was starting to show. "Totally," he muttered.

"Can I help you with anything?" Shinra asked when he realized that topic of conversation was over.

"Not really," Izaya replied, sighing, leaning back, folding his arms behind his head. "I figured you were bored."

The all-knowing jerk. Shinra sighed and chuckled. "Yeah," he replied. "I am."

"I bet you're wondering how I knew that."

This time, Shinra shook his head. "Nope. I couldn't care less."

Izaya smirked.

And the kettle blew.

…

**After Notes**

An introductory chapter. And, next chapter...we shall begin...

Review! Yeah. Do it. I dare you. Bwahaha! You know you wanna. MWAHAHAHA- Ah...Ahem...


	2. Chapter 2: This Same Day

**Downside Wonderland**

**By: AtomicKokoro**

**Storyline**

Shinra is an underground doctor. It goes without saying. But when the doctor finds himself stuck with a mental illness he can't seem to cure, can he convince himself to hold on a little while longer, or will he fall to his hallucinations' demands?

…

**Before You Read**

Last chapter...Nothing happened! Wow. That's a first. Not.

On with the story!

…

**Chapter 2**

**This Same Day**

Sunlight poured into the empty apartment's living room. A gorgeous clear sky hung over the city seen from their balcony window, fragile as though it was about to break over the tallest building. But, still, it stood tall and high and the world went on without care.

And Shinra was having Deja Vu.

It was five to ten. Gray eyes stared out from underneath the blanket. It was just him. His lover had gone on an early morning job (or she hadn't come back from last night's one yet) and he laid alone. Perhaps they should get a pet of some kind. He got lonely without his precious Celty there.

He rolled onto his back, pushing off the blanket and laying to take up as much space as possible, and sighed. He stared at the ceiling. He felt somewhat cooler, but his usual work clothes still made him hot. He still didn't care.

He blew up into his bangs, giving himself some form of cooling, and sighed. He hadn't realized how much his life went into circles. Get up, watching documentaries, see Celty, be with Celty, talk to a friend, go to bed.

It was just another day. It was another dark morning. A lazy morning. A lonely morning. "Whatever," he muttered and leaned up. He looked around his room, blank and unamused. Then, he growled in annoyance and laid back down again.

Not yet.

He wasn't going to get up yet.

Shinra laid, eyes closed, just listening to his breathing and keeping a blank mind. Then, suddenly, something creaked and growled. His eyes snapped open and he looked around. Was that a dog?

He leaned up and looked around but saw nothing. He rubbed the back of his head and decided he should get out of bed. The world between the awake and the dreaming was a scary place. He kicked on his slippers and headed out onto the kitchen.

Celty was sitting in the living room, watching the news about how another person disappeared. Shinra wondered if Celty was doing jobs related to the disappearances. He gulped. He didn't want her to disappear.

His gulp must have been audible because she turned to him. If she could have smiled, she would. But she couldn't, so she sent a happy smiley face on her phone, [:) Good morning, Shinra.]

Shinra didn't need to read what it said to know what she was thinking. "Good morning," he replied, scratching his forehead and walking into the kitchen to pour himself a mug of coffee. "Did you sleep last night?"

Celty nodded and turned back to the news. Shinra added the milk and sugar he wanted, then turned and leaned against the counter, watching the TV from where he was. After a moment, he felt something run over his foot and he glanced down. A small, brown ball ran off into the next room and he blinked. "What, was that a mouse?"

Celty jumped up onto the couch. [What? A mouse? Really?]

Shinra nodded. "Hold on. I'll get it." He set his coffee on the table and hurried into the room the mouse disappeared into.

_Oh, dear, don't do that!_ Celty thought, but couldn't speak, as she jumped off the couch and ran to the frame of the bathroom door, where the mouse disappeared and where Shinra was looking. [Do you see it?]

"No," he replied, looking around. Shinra leaned up, about to give up, when a squeak emerged from the shower. He opened it and out darted the brown ball. Shinra dove for it, cupped it in his hands. Celty jumped and leaned in closer as the doctor lifted the mouse off the ground. It's head peaked out of his fingers and Shinra giggled as it tickled his palms. "Little rascal," he chuckled.

[What are you going to do with it?] Celty asked, keeping her distance from Shinra and the mouse.

"What else?" Shinra asked. "Dissect it."

Celty instantly sent out her shadows for the mouse and shielded it from Shinra's hands. [Eww! No, I'm not letting you do that. It's an innocent _mouse_.]

Shinra rolled his eyes as Celty took the mouse out to the balcony and let the shadow bubble fall, fall, fall until it got close to the ground and she released it. The mouse scurried away into the gutter and wasn't seen again.

She turned back to Shinra and folded her arms, as though demanding an explanation for Shinra's behavior. "What?" he asked. She tapped her finger against her arm. He sighed. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry."

Celty clasped her hands together and patted him on the head. Shinra blinked stupidly. She sat back down on the couch and continued to watch the TV. Shinra sighed. There was a barking noise from what seemed to be far away, but too close to be from the ground.

He glanced at the TV and noticed there was a dog on the screen. He chuckled and shook his head. Maybe he needed some more sleep.

…

The news had nothing to say more than a murder, a car crash, and some fundraiser for cancer research going on at the nearest public school.

The murder had been depressing to watch. An eight-year-old girl and her mother were killed by a man with a knife, most likely the father.

The car crash was caused by a coyote running across the road. The trucks swerved and crashed on it's side, killing the coyote. The truck driver wasn't killed, only injured.

And the fund raiser was a simple barbeque, something Shinra found much more enjoyable; watching the children play, parents talk and eat. He almost wished it was a three hour documentary following the different children to see what they did.

Finally, the eleven'o'clock news was over and Celty had a job to tend two five minutes before it's end. It sounded like Izaya (it was too calm to be Shizuo) on the other line, so Shinra let her go. He spent the rest of the day watching documentaries, some he had seen before, others he hadn't.

It was another typical day.

…

The next morning, he was awoken, a quarter to ten, by the howling of a dog. Shinra shot up, surprised and shocked. He looked around, but the howling only faded off into an echo as though he were in a cave.

He looked around. He got out of bed and looked out his window. He turned and looked around in his room, looking for something; a recording, a cell phone. Anything. Finally, he dropped to his knees and peered under the bed. He could see nothing but darkness for a moment.

He blinked and, then, he saw it. Glowing, red eyes. Peering back at him. He lost his breath for a moment, shocking taking over. It growled viciously then jumped at him. He yelped and leaped backwards, hoping to avoid it.

But there was nothing to avoid.

It was just Shinra, in his room.

Alone.

…

**After Notes**

Sorry for the short chapter.

Loved it? Hate it? Wanna read it again? Let me know! Review button is right there!


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